Page 144 of Sinful Pleasure

I glanced at my watch— already late. My time was precious, and I hated wasting it. Yet that’s exactlywhat I was doing.

This meeting was a surprise to everyone. The next one wasn’t due for another two months, but someone—some family—had called for it early. I didn’t ask who, and honestly, I didn’t give a single fuck.

Now, we were just waiting for one family to join us.

The one I was most interested in seeing—The Romano’s.

Even months later, the name still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

Martin King did a damn good job hiding Allyn from us.

Nearly six months since she was taken from us, and we still haven’t gotten any closer to finding her.

The past few months have been nothing short of torture.

After receiving the black rose on my birthday with the threatening note attached, I fully expected something to come my way—A small, feisty woman, to be exact.

And when nothing came, the disappointment was… immaculate, even though I’d never admit it out loud. That’s the feeling I’ve had to live withfor the past few months.

I stared at the empty chair across from me, my mind racing through a thousand scenarios of how this evening might end. I was determined to get my answers from Mikael Romano tonight, one way or another.Just then, the door opened, and as everyone was talking and laughing, the room fell silent.

They stared at the door as if they had seen a ghost.

I’ll never understand why Mikael instills so much fear in everyone. Maybe I’m just tempered enough not to fear him, or anything at this point.

But what caught my attention, what made me turn toward the door like every other stupid man in the room, was the sound of heels echoing through the space.

And when my eyes landed on the figure walking toward the chair, my heart dropped to my fucking feet. A part of me left my body as I gripped the armrests of my chair, cursing inwardly.

Months had passed, but that wasn’t enough time to forget. A lifetime wouldn’t be enough for me to fucking forget.

Allyn Romano was walking toward the chair, her hips swaying in her catwalk, her guards flanking her. Her head high, savoring the shocked expressions of every powerful man in the room—including mine.

I allowed myself to undress her with my eyes.

It wasn’t intentional, but I couldn’t stop myself. Her toned body was wrapped in a tight black dress, every curve accentuated perfectly. I could still remember my mouth on her skin, marking her in ways that felt like a lifetime ago.But my memory still lingers. How could it not?

She looked like the Allyn I knew, but at the same time, she was so fucking different.

I was entranced, unable to look away.

Her hair was chocolate brown the last time I saw her, but now it was a deep, murderous black, stripping away the “good girl” image she once carried. It was tied back in a high ponytail, exposing the small tattoos now inked along her neck.

They were recent—when she was last in my hands, her skin was bare, untouched by ink.The dress revealed just enough to tell me she was hiding more tattoos she never had before.

She once told me she liked tattoos, but not on herself. I had caught her admiring mine more times than I could count.And now, here she was, standing before me—flesh and blood, murderously beautiful, just as stunning as the last time I saw her.

The day I fucking lost her.

She’s always been a mix of goddess and hell.

I expected her gaze to settle on me as she took her seat at the head of the table, but I didn’t expect the gut-wrenching feeling that hit me the moment our eyes locked in a battle.

My stomach twisted violently, storms swirling inside me as her dark, unreadable eyes stared back. I had expected to see that familiar warmth, that spark she always carried, but it was gone.

Erased, as if it had never existed.Instead she kept her eyes on me for a few seconds longer before turning her attention to the other men, still staring at her in stunned silence.

A woman had never sat among us before.

---